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Sue Ellen Gets Her Goose Cooked
---- Synopsis by KorraIsBack Comments by Dave, sue_ellen_armstrong, and Esmeraude. ---- Sue Ellen, Muffy, and their friends are all in Muffy's game room. Sue Ellen is wearing leather lace up biker gloves and wearing safety goggles, and she's furiously playing a computer game. Sue Ellen is very good at this game, and her friends are all cheering her on. Arthur says they found this "totally amazing" game on the web. 2013 February 14 1993 VHS # 2013 February 14 # Double Dare # A Tale of Tails # Prunella Gets It Twice # Trouble at School Sue Ellen: Goose me, baby! The object of this game is to shoot balls into a goose's mouth. The game is called "Virtual Goose", and it's very noisy. Arthur explains how the game is played -- a giant (Canada) goose spins around really fast in the center of the screen, and stops facing one of four colored circles. You then have to shoot balls into the goose's mouth. The more balls you manage to shoot in, the higher your score... and you can play online, against other players all over the world. Sue Ellen's login is BLACKBELT44, and she happens to be playing SUNTZU49. (Sun Tzu wrote'' "The Art of War") Arthur explains how SUNTZU49 could be anywhere in the world, such as in China. We see a kid sitting at a computer in a house in China. We see her lose the game by a score of 5732 to 7256, and she pounds her desk, and grumbles furiously, presumably in Chinese. Back in Muffy's game room, Sue Ellen is standing in front of the computer. She's pleased that she won. Sue Ellen: YES! I am unbeatable! (she shakes her fists in the air) I am the queen of the virtual world! ---- ---- We see an answering machine in someone's house. From the message on the answering machine, it's D.W.'s rabbit friend, Emily. Emily: Hello, you have reached Emily... Emily's Nanny: (in a strong French accent)...and Marie-Ellen, Emily: We cannot take your call right now... because, because... Emily's Nanny: because, we are on a trip, a big long treeeeeeep, so leave your message at the sound of the beep! Laughter... D.W. leaves a message for her friend Emily. D.W. has a new game she wants to play with her. D.W. also asks what a "treep" is. She hangs up the phone, which this time has the right number of buttons on it. * * * Arthur meanwhile has a number of things on his bed, and is checking them off on a checklist he has on a clipboard. *Mittens to protect his fingers. *Swimming goggles to cut down on glare from the screen. *The remains of his lucky pencil. (This is in a bag with what looks like its shavings) D.W. opens Arthur's door and tells him to pick a number between one and ten. Arthur picks seven. D.W. says that that's right, and he wins. Arthur's prize is that he gets to pick the board game that he and D.W. will play. D.W. produces two games from behind her back, "Tower of Cows", and the "exciting new game" she got, "Rocks in a Box", which features "real rocks in a real box". Arthur does not want to play either of D.W.'s board games. He can't -- he has to go to the "Virtual Goose Championships" at Muffy's. D.W. pulls out a napkin she saved, which has Arthur's signature on it. She reminds him how last week she gave him her TV time -- Arthur wanted to watch a show about the guy who invented Bionic Bunny, whereas D.W. wanted to watch Mary Moocow. Arthur said that if he could watch this show, he'd make it up to her by playing with her for an hour. Arthur was playing with his glasses at the time, meaning he wasn't telling the truth, so she made him sign the napkin promising as much. We never get to see what "''Rocks in A Box" is actually like. It looks like a fun game. The only time I remember Arthur's doing that thing with his glasses happening previously is #20101 - "Arthur Meets Mister Rogers", but I think it's been mentioned occasionally since then. The show Arthur was watching was real-life Marc Brown on TV. Marc Brown is talking about superheroes in a bored voice. This isn't the first time real TV footage was superimposed into Arthur -- see #40402 - "Prove It!" I really enjoyed the Marc Brown cameo. Note the pair of Arthur glasses which happen to be sitting behind Marc Brown. D.W. is just following up on her napkin, and wants Arthur to pay up. Arthur has a good idea -- he says he'll play with D.W. for two hours next weekend if she lets him go. She tells him to make it three. Arthur agrees to this, winces slightly, signs another napkin, and is on his way. * * * Arthur plays "Virtual Goose" on Muffy's computer, wearing his gear, while his friends cheer him on. Arthur's logged in as ANTMUNCHER52, and he's playing FOURHAND451. Arthur loses 3200 to 4350. Arthur says that FOURHAND451 is a tough opponent. Francine agrees -- her hands still hurt from playing the game against him. Buster thinks FOURHAND451 might be called that because he's a four-handed mutant sheep. Cut to a scene of a mad goat scientist having created such a mutant sheep watching his creation play "Virtual Goose". Muffy figures that Sue Ellen will be clobbered by FOURHAND451. Sue Ellen: We'll just see about that. Sue Ellen boots Muffy out of the computer chair (which looks like it might be Star Trek surplus) just as Muffy's about to start playing. Muffy doesn't mind giving up her spot though, since Sue Ellen is the best of them at the game. * * * Sue Ellen loses 5750 to 6201. She can't believe it. Buster tries to comfort her, saying that FOURHAND451 is a genetically-enhanced sheep, and not a fair fight for a kid. Sue Ellen says maybe he was just lucky. Francine retorts that he's been lucky 8 times in a row. Muffy wants to call it a night. Sue Ellen wants just one more game though. Her friends collapse on the floor, groaning. * * * Sue Ellen looks like she needs some sleep. She's at home practicing "Virtual Goose". Her Mom opens the door slightly, and asks if Sue Ellen's done with her homework yet. Sue Ellen's Mom thinks Sue Ellen is doing work for school rather than playing a game. Sue Ellen says she's almost finished. Having had her concentration broken, Sue Ellen loses the game. She calls it a night, and crawls into bed, and says goodnight to her Mom. Sue Ellen's Mom turns off the light and shuts the door. Once the door is shut, Sue Ellen turns on her flashlight, gets out of bed, and goes back to playing the game! Sue Ellen: Must practice... must practice. That might be bad, but remember, Arthur's Mom was guilty of the same thing back in #11401 - "Arthur the Wrecker". I can remember staying up at night playing new videogames too. Hanging up by the door in Sue Ellen's room is a big ugly mask. If that was in my room, I'd have trouble going to sleep. There's also a poster in Sue Ellen's room that says "Africa". I guess she got rid of the "Eygpt" one. :) * * * Between scenes, the screen goes black for a moment. I taped this episode, and when I was watching, I thought maybe my tape had broken! Me too! Not having had enough sleep, Sue Ellen falls asleep in class. Mr. Ratburn calls on her for an answer. She awakes with a start and asks if the answer is "red". That turns out not to be the correct answer to the question, which was what 22 x 11 was. Mr. Ratburn does not that red is what Sue Ellen's cheeks are turning. Everyone laughs. Mr. Ratburn: ...let's try to stay awake, shall we? Sue Ellen plays with her peas on her plate in the cafeteria, plotting "Virtual Goose" strategy. Buster has something to show Francine. He starts wiggling his ears. He calls this "ear-obics". Buster: A one and a two, a one and a two... Francine, holding an ice cream cone, starts giggling. Sue Ellen imagines Francine turning into a giant goose! Thinking she's playing "Virtual Goose", Sue Ellen flings her peas at Francine. Francine trys to pull the peas out of her hair in the bathroom. Sue Ellen apologizes, wiping her face, having to clean up herself. It looks like Francine retaliated with ice cream. Sue Ellen is getting really bitter about FOURHAND451. She starts ripping up paper towels -- that's what she'd do to him if he was there. Francine suggests Sue Ellen take it easy. She thinks "Virtual Goose" is starting to affect Sue Ellen's brain. Sue Ellen looks at herself in the mirror. Francine's right. Sue Ellen says she's going to give computer games a rest for an entire week. She thanks Francine, and the pair of them head out of the washroom, still friends. Frugal Francine eats one of the peas she picked out of her hair before leaving the washroom. D.W. tries to phone Emily again. The answering machine has been changed. Emily and her nanny are still on their "treep", and the message explains that a "treep" is a "trip with a French accent". Emily and her nanny must not get many phone calls if they change their answering machine message just for D.W.'s benefit. D.W. hangs up with a trace of annoyance on her face. Arthur comes barging down the stairs. D.W. stops him by jumping out in front of him and blowing a whistle. She's come to collect on the four hours of time that Arthur owes her. Arthur thought he only owed her three hours! D.W. explains that he owes her one hour from the first time, plus the three hours he promised her the second time, for a total of four hours. D.W.: See? I have it all here on napkins... She waggles her documentation in front of Arthur. Arthur tries to get out of it. He claims it's the "Virtual Goose Championships" today. D.W. thought that was what it was last time. Arthur rolls his eyes and explains that that was just the "Championship of the final playoffs of the championships". This weekend, it's the "Real Championships". D.W. doesn't buy it. D.W.: A contract is a contract.Arthur says Muffy's going to kill him for this. Arthur elects to take D.W. with him to Muffy's. Along the way, D.W. wonders out loud if Muffy has an ice cream machine. D.W. says she wants a vanilla sundae with vanilla sprinkles and hot vanilla sauce. Then she wants to know if Muffy has a petting zoo, as she wants to pet a whale. Then she wonders which order she should do things in, as she might get her hands fishy from petting the whale. They walk up to Muffy's front door. Muffy's front yard has some topiary -- bushes cut to look like cars. D.W. continues to ramble, remembering that whales are mammals. She doesn't want to get her hands mammally if she's going to have ice cream... One of Muffy's servants, who looks like the chauffeur, opens the door for Arthur and D.W. Arthur's already groaning because of his annoying sister. Buster is trying to play "Virtual Goose" while Muffy shouts out advice from behind him. Buster tells her that "Back seat goosing" hurts his concentration. At the other end of the room, Francine and Sue Ellen are playing table tennis. Francine comments that Sue Ellen's gone six days without playing "Virtual Goose", and that today's the championships. Francine notes that Sue Ellen doesn't even seem tempted. Sue Ellen says that it was hard at first, but now she's ok. Sue Ellen: ...you just have to take it one day at a time. That's one of the things you learn at "Alcoholics Anonymous". :) Muffy calls out that it's Francine's turn next. Francine puts down her table tennis racquet and goes over to play, leaving Sue Ellen on her own. Sue Ellen sighs. Buster and Muffy shout encouragment to Francine as she plays FOURHAND451. Buster: Yeah, take that, you mutant! Sue Ellen's hand starts tapping the table tennis table, as if she's playing "Virtual Goose"! Sue Ellen holds her hand down, saying she's "in control"... In walk Arthur and D.W.. D.W. watches Francine play for a second, but isn't very interested. D.W. yawns and asks where the petting zoo is. Nobody pays her any attention, being too engrossed in the gameplay. D.W.: Hello? I'm talking here... She walks over to Sue Ellen. Sue Ellen explains that they can't hear her, and that they'll be like that for a couple of hours. D.W. wonders what they can do -- Sue Ellen suggests they go exploring. Which they do. After what Sue Ellen had to put up with from D.W. in [http://www.angelfire.com/ma2/ecdc/22002.htm #22002 - "Sue Ellen's Little Sister"], I'm surprised Sue Ellen wanted to play with D.W.. *''They slide bum first down the bannister of the spiral staircase, stopping just before the big ornament on the end of the bannister.'' *''They ask the elevator attendant to take them to the top floor. He nods, the door closes, and up they go.'' *''They jump on a waterbed until the valve opens and the water starts pouring out. Then they run off.'' *''They go to the kitchen, and D.W. orders her vanilla-centric sundae, which D.W. requests be "heavy on the sauce". (Hmmm... speaking of "Alcoholics Anonymous"... :) ) Her order is input into a computer, and said sundae rolls out on a conveyor belt.'' ''They continue exploring. They open a door into what looks like an abandoned room full of toys. Sue Ellen: ...It must be Muffy's OLD game room. The room is full of stuffed animals and old toys, including Citizen Kane's Rosebud sled. D.W. picks up a large toy whale and starts stroking it. Sue Ellen picks up a box, a game called "''Confuse the Goose". Sue Ellen turns her nose up at this, betting that "Virtual Goose" is based on this dumb old kid's game. Sue Ellen's just about to toss the game aside when D.W. takes it off her. D.W. says that "Confuse the Goose" is better than the computer game version. It takes more than just pushing buttons to be good at the board game. Sue Ellen's taken aback. Is D.W. good at "Confuse the Goose" then? Oh yes, yes she is. D.W. starts setting up the game to show Sue Ellen the "tricks of the trade".* Back at the computer, Arthur, Buster Francine, and Muffy are all pounding on the keyboard at once. They lose anyway. They've lost 47 games in a row. Francine's sure that's a world record. Muffy takes off her glasses. Not only have they lost 47 games to FOURHAND451, but they've all been playing at once, notes Buster. That's six hands against his four! Arthur corrects Buster. There's four of them, so that's eight hands, not six. Buster grips his glasses tightly and gasps, almost doubling up with shock. Buster: That's even better than I thought! Sue Ellen comes storming in. She wants to get on the computer. Francine reminds her of her promise. Sue Ellen confidently says that was BEFORE she played "Confuse the Goose". Now she's sure she can beat FOURHAND451. Sue Ellen: Now I know the way of the goose. The game is about to begin. Suddenly Sue Ellen's conscience or something kicks in. She can't do it. She said she wouldn't play for a week, and she must follow through on that. She gets up from the computer and walks away. Sue Ellen: A promise is a promise, even if it's just to myself. Francine says she's done the right thing. Buster on the other hand figures that mutant sheep are going to take over the world! Muffy figures they'll never beat FOURHAND451. Sue Ellen has an idea. Everyone follows D.W.'s gaze to D.W., who is pretending to feed the remains of her sundae to the toy whale. Arthur: You can't be serious?!* * * D.W.'s kitted up in Sue Ellen's goggles, and she plays "Virtual Goose". She gets really excited about the game -- the thrill of the hunt. D.W.: Eat those dots, GOOSE! D.W., playing using the screenname of DISASTERWARNING99 wins the game, scoring 10,000 points to FOURHAND451's 8500. It's a big celebration in Muffy's game room. Buster: Long live two-handed mammals! D.W.'s login harkens back to #22002 - "Sue Ellen's Little Sister".* We cut to Emily's house, where Emily and her nanny have been playing as FOURHAND451. They're slightly disappointed to have lost, but whomever DISASTERWARNING99 is, they're a tough opponent. They close down the computer, which looks like an IMac. I know the feeling of staying up all night on the computer, and being woozy the next morning. :) I liked this episode, not just because of that. I don't know what it was. Maybe it was the goggles. I have a pair like Sue Ellen's. Speaking of Sue Ellen, it was funny that Sue Ellen, one of the more sporty members of the gang would be the one who wanted to play computer games. Oh well. :) Species-ist comments Ok, why's Buster making rude comments about sheep? There's a sheep girl in Arthur's school if I'm not mistaken. Cheering for mammals is a bit ill-advised as well... given that there are duck people and alligator people in Elwood City. Buster had better get some sensitivity training. :) "Virtual Goose" I kept expecting someone to draw the parallel between "Virtual Goose" and "Confuse the Goose" far, far, earlier than it did. "Confuse the Goose" has been a game D.W.'s liked since the first season -- #12001 - "Arthur's Almost Boring Day". PBS went to the trouble of making an actual version of "Virtual Goose" available online, even down to registering the domain name that appears on the game in the episode,www.virtualgoose.com. The only thing is, the game you can play isn't the game that Sue Ellen and the gang play. The PBS game is a pattern-matching game. *When Sue Ellen's home, It looks like you need to press the function keys on the top row. 'F2' and 'Q'. *When Francine plays when D.W. walks in, she's pressing just one key. *When they play as a foursome, Arthur Francine, Buster, and Muffy are banging away all over the keyboard. *D.W.'s pressing what might be '7' and 'Y' repeatedly. Then again, the whole game may just be an elaborate ruse to get people to wreck their keyboards and buy new ones. I don't see how having four people playing with one keyboard at the same time would make much sense. :) Emily's makeover |} Category:Episodes Category:Warner, Home Video, 1993, VHS